Pipe jack

ABSTRACT

The pipe jack includes a square tubular body, and a movable carriage and a hydraulic ram mounted within the body. A cylindrical sleeve for receiving a length of pipe or rod is disposed above the body and is removably mounted on the carriage. A gripper, including a two-piece arcuate clamp and a hydraulic ram, grips the pipe or rod adjacent the sleeve. When the carriage is moved, the sleeve engages the gripper to move the pipe or rod.

United States Patent 1191 1111 3,908,960

Bagley 1 Sept. 30, 1975 [54] PIPE JACK 3,022,042 2/l962 Orcutt 254/29 R3,227,419 l/1966 Lackey [76] Inventor: Bagley 2806 4th 3,726,506 4/1973Vanderwaal et al. 254/29 R Rockford, Ill. 61109 1221 il J n 1 1 4Primary ExaminerAl Lawrence Smith [21] Appl 477 863 AssistantE.\'aminer-Rob ert C. Watson [52] US. Cl 254/29 R; 269/25; 269/237;ABSTRACT 2 269/287 The pipe jack includes a square tubular body, and a[51] Int. Cl. E21B 9/00 movable carriage and a hydraulic ram mountedwithin [58] held of Search 254/2 9 the body. A cylindrical sleeve forreceiving a length of 29/200 269/237 25 pipe or rod is disposed abovethe body and is removably mounted on the carriage. A gripper, includinga [56] References cued two-piece arcuate clamp and a hydraulic ram,grips UNITED STATES PATENTS the pipe or rod adjacent the sleeve. Whenthe carriage 1,696,194 12/1928 Foreman 269/237 is moved, the sleeveengages the gripper to move the 2,674,966 4/1954 Morris 269/237 pipe orrod. 2.685.430 8/1954 Henke 254/29 R 2,935,298 5/1960 Wilwerding 254/29R 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 1 of23,908,960

as as U.S. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet20f2 3,908,960

.3\\ i l p fl 3 v- J l L I MN PIPE JACK BACKGROUND The inventionpertains generally to pushing and pulling implements and moreparticularly to pipe or rod jacks.

One use of pipe jacks is to install water lines in buildings. A pit isdug at street side, and a pipe having a pointed end is forced from thebasement to the pit. The water line is then drawn through the pipe, andthe pipe retracted. Various apparatus have been suggested for thisoperation. Manually operated apparatus require too much physical labor.Other apparatus appears too complex.

SUMMARY The present invention pertains to an improved pipe jack. Theterm pipe jack being meant to include the operation of pushing and/orpulling a pipe or rod.

It is a general object of this invention to provide an improved pipejack.

Another object is to provide an improved pipe jack for jacking a pipeand the like through the earth as in installing a water line into thebasement of a building.

Yet another object is to provide'a pipe jack which is capable of use incramped spaces and convenient for transportation to and from the job andinto and out of the basement of a building.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pipe jack which iseasily manipulated or controlled for actuating a piercing rod step bystep in either direction.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pipe jack which is notonly capable or providing a hole through the ground by forward piercingaction but also for return pulling therethrough for installation thereinthe water pipe or the like.

A still further object is to provide a pipe jack that is of simplifiedconstruction, economical to manufacture, and simple and efficient touse.

These, and other objects and advantages of the present invention, willbecome apparent as the same becomes better understood from the followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top view of a pipe jack constructed in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view as seen from line 22 of FIG. 1 and on a larger scalethan FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line 33 of FIG. 1 and on a still largerscale which is half size;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the pipe jack of FIG. 1 with the carriagein extended position; and

FIG. 5 is a view, partly sectional and partly elevational, takengenerally along line 5-5 of FIG. 4, but with the carriage retracted.

DESCRIPTION Reference is now made more particularly to the drawingswhich illustrate the best presently known mode of carrying out theinvention and wherein similar reference characters indicate the sameparts throughout the several views.

The pipe jack has a tubular body provided with a number of outwardlyextending legs 12 having openings 13 through which pins or anchors canbe inserted to secure the pipe jack in position as, for example, intoholes drilled into a basement floor. Alternatively, the openings 13 inthe rear legs 12 (at the left of FIGS. 1, 4 and 5) can be used toaccommodate adjustable legs (not shown) for leveling the pipe jack. Onthe inside of the body are a pair of longitudinally extending channels14, 14' which provide flanges on which a carriage 20 can reciprocate.The carriage carries an elongate sleeve 25 through which a pointed pipe28 can be received. A hydraulic ram 30 moves the carriage 20 and drivesthe sleeve 25 against a gripping mechanism, generally designated 40.When the carriage 20 has been extended to its fullest, as shown in FIG.4, the gripping mecahnism is released, the carriage retracted to theposition illustrated in FIG. 5, and the operation repeated to jack thepipe.

The tubular body 10 is approximately square in cross-section,advantageously formed from 1 inch steel and having ouotside dimensionsof 6 inches by 6 inches by 36 inches long. As best seen in FIG. 3, ithas a lower wall 41 to which the legs are mounted, and substantiallyupright side walls 42 and 42' on which the channels 14 and 14,respectively, are mounted. At the top are inwardly projecting flanges 44and 44' which overly a portion of the carrier 20, and which are spacedapart to provide a elongate slot extending the full length of thetubular body. At the rear end of wall 44 is an outwardly extending shelf46 on which a control valve 48 is mounted. The rear or left end of thetubular body is closed by two angle brackets 51 and 52 having their legsextending forwardly to provide a bracket on which the hydraulic cylinder30 is mounted by way of a pin 53 and a clevis 54. As best seen in FIG.4, wall 42 has a reduced height near the rear end of the tubular body toprovide easy access to the pin 53 for mounting or dismounting thecylinder.

The carrier 20 is advantageously formed from 45 inch steel and has aninverted U-shaped cross-section providing legs 62 and 62' which lieclosely adjacent the upright sides 42 and 42' of the body 10. An upperwall 64 of the carrier extends across the elongate slot of the body. Atthe bottom of wall 64 is fixed a mounting bracket formed by two channels65 and 66 having an opening for receiving a pin 67 which attaches to aclevis 68 at the end of a piston rod 69 of the hydraulic cylinder 30.The carrier is preferably of shorter length than the elongate body 10and, for this purpose, advantageously has a length of about 32 inches.

The hydraulic cylinder 30 advantageously has a stroke about a quarter ofthe length of the carrier and, in the embodiment illustrated, has astroke of 8 inches. Suitable hydraulic connections (not shown) lead fromthe valve 48 to the cylinder 30 so that hydraulic fluid can beselectively fed to either side of the piston (not shown) contained inthe cylinder. For this purpose, the valve 48 is a two-position, four-wayvalve.

Sleeve 25 has an inner surface which is in the form of a right circularcylinder and, in the embodiment illustrated, has a 2 inch innerdiameter. The length of the sleeve 25 is preferably several times itsdiameter and, in the embodiment illustrated, has a length of about 26inches. The sleeve is welded to a plate 72 which is preferably removablymounted on the top wall 64 of the carrier by means of a plurality ofbolts 74.

At the top of the body 10 is a super structure 76 in the form of aninverted U-shaped member the legs of which are welded to flanges 44 and44'. The super structure overlies the sleeve 25 and is so arranged thata post can bear against it and hold the entire pipe jack firmly againstthe floor.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the gripper 40 is formed from a heavysteel plate bent into a shape which includes an L-shaped portion and acircular portion. The L-shaped portion is formed of legs 81 and 82. Thecircular portion includes a first arcuate member 83 and a second arcuatemember 84 which is connected to the first arcuate member by a hinge 85.A hydraulic ram 86 is mounted on leg 81 and has an extensible portion 87which, when extended, engages the outer surface of arcuate member 84 andgrips the pipe or rod 28 between it and member 83. When the extensibleportion 87 is retracted, it can be seen that arcuate member 84 can swingrelative to member 83 thereby releasing the grip on the rod and allowingthe gripper to be quickly and easily repositioned.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has herein beenillustrated and described, this has been done by way of illustration andnot limitation, and the invention should not be limited except asrequired by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pipe jack comprising: a tubular body having a cross-sectiongenerally in the form of a square tube with upright sides, and front andrear ends; the tubular body being open at the front end and having anelongate slot in its top extending rearwardly a preselected distancefrom the front end; a carrier mounted in the tubular body between thesides and below the top thereof and having an inverted U-shapedcross-section the legs of which lie closely adjacent the upright sidesof the tubular body; the tubular body having inwardly projecting flangesat its top which overlie a portion of the top of the carrier and definethe elongate slot; the carrier being slidable between a retractedposition and an extended position where it extends through the openfront end of the tubular body; a sleeve for receiving a length of pipe;the sleeve having an inner surface in the shape of a right circularcylinder the axis of which is parallel to the slot; the sleeve having alength several times its inside diameter; means on the carrier andextending through the elongate slot of the tubular body for removablymounting the sleeve on the carrier; a cylinder disposed entirely withinthe tubular body and between the legs of the carrier, and having apiston and a piston rod; means for attaching the cylinder to the tubularbody; a bracket depending from the underside of the carrier forattaching the piston rod to the carrier with the axis of the piston rodparallel to the axis of the sleeve; means for selectively feeding fluidunder pressure to the cylinder to move the piston and piston rod andthereby move the carrier relative to the tubular body; gripping meansfor gripping the pipe adjacent the sleeve and including: first andsecond arcuate members substantially surrounding the pipe, meanshingedly connecting said arcuate members, and fluid operated means forapplying force to said arcuate members to clamp the pipe between them;and said arcuate members providing a surface facing the sleeve forengagement thereby, whereby the pipe is jacked as the carrier is moved.

2. A pipe jack as set forth in claim 1 including laterally-extendinglegs secured at opposite sides of the tubu- 5 lar body and havingopenings for receiving anchoring apparatus; and a superstructure securedto the tubular body and immovable relative thereto; the superstructurehaving a portion extending over the sleeve and against which a hold downforce may be applied.

3. In a rod and pipe pushing and pulling device including an elongatebody, a carrier slidably mounted on the body, and a hydraulic cylinderfor moving the carrier relative to the body; characterized in that thecarrier and hydraulic cylinder are both disposed within the elongatebody; the elongate body has a rear end, an open front end, and anelongate slot in the top thereof extending rearwardly a preselecteddistance from the front end; the elongate body has a cross-sectiongenerally in the form of a square tube having upright sides; the carrierhas an inverted U-shaped cross-section the legs of which lie closelyadjacent the upright sides of the tubular body; the tubular body havinginwardly projecting flanges at its top which overlie a portion of thetop of the carrier and which define the elongate slot; the carrier beingslidable between a retracted position and an extended position where itextends through the open front end of the body; a sleeve disposedoutwardly of the elongate slot and having an inner surface in the shapeof a right circular cylinder; said sleeve having a length about 13 timesits inside diameter; means operatively connecting the sleeve to thecarrier for movement therewith and including a plate disposed inn saidelongate slot and secured to the sleeve, and fastening means removablymounting the plate on the carrier; a superstructure secured to theelongate body and extending over the sleeve and against which a holddown force may be applied; and an apparatus for clamping the rod and forengagement by the sleeve so that the rod is advanced as the sleeve ismoved by the carrier.

4. In a rod and pipe pushing and pulling device including an elongatebody, a carrier slidably mounted on the body, a hydraulic cylinder formoving the carrier relative to the body, and gripping means for grippingthe rod and providing a surface for engagement by the carrier so thatthe rod is moved along with the carrier; characterized in that thegripping means includes an L-shaped member; a first arcuate memberattached at the extremity of one leg of the L-shaped member and with itsinner surface facing the other leg; a second arcuate member hinged tothe first arcuate member and with its outer surface facing said otherleg; and a hydraulic ram mounted on said other leg and operative, whenextended, to engage the outer surface of the second arcuate member togrip the rod between the two arcuate members and, when retracted,permitting the second arcuate member to swing thereby releasing the gripon the rod.

5. A pipe jack as set forth in claim 2 wherein the length of the sleeveis about 13 times its inside diameter.

1. A pipe jack comprising: a tubular body having a cross-sectiongenerally in the form of a square tube with upright sides, and front andrear ends; the tubular body being open at the front end and having anelongate slot in its top extending rearwardly a preselected distancefrom the front end; a carrier mounted in the tubular body between thesides and below the top thereof and having an inverted U-shapedcross-section the legs of which lie closely adjacent the upright sidesof the tubular body; the tubular body having inwardly projecting flangesat its top which overlie a portion of the top of the carrier and definethe elongate slot; the carrier being slidable between a retractedposition and an extended position where it extends through the openfront end of the tubular body; a sleeve for receiving a length of pipe;the sleeve having an inner surface in the shape of a right circularcylinder the axis of which is parallel to the slot; the sleeve having alength several times its inside diameter; means on the carrier andextending through the elongate slot of the tubular body for removablymounting the sleeve on the carrier; a cylinder disposed entirely withinthe tubular body and between the legs of the carrier, and having apiston and a piston rod; means for attaching the cylinder to the tubularbody; a bracket depending from the underside of the carrier forattaching the piston rod to the carrier with the axis of the piston rodparallel to the axis of the sleeve; means for selectively feeding fluidunder pressure to the cylinder to move the piston and piston rod andthereby move the carrier relative to the tubular body; gripping meansfor gripping the pipe adjacent the sleeve and including: first andsecond arcuate members substantially surrounding the pipe, meanshingedly connecting said arcuate members, and fluid operated means forapplying force to said arcuate members to clamp the pipe between them;and said arcuate members providing a surface facing the sleeve forengagement thereby, whereby the pipe is jacked as the carrier is moved.2. A pipe jack as set forth in claim 1 including laterally-extendinglegs secured at opposite sides of the tubular body and having openingsfor receiving anchoring apparatus; and a superstructure secured to thetubular body and immovable relative thereto; the superstructure having aportion extending over the sleeve and against which a hold down forcemay be applied.
 3. In a rod and pipe pushing and pulling deviceincluding an elongate body, a carrier slidably mounted on the body, anda hydraulic cylinder for moving the carrier relative to the body;characterized in that the carrier and hydraulic cylinder are bothdisposed within the elongate body; the elongate body has a rear end, anopen front end, and an elongate slot in the top thereof extendingrearwardly a preselected distance from the front end; the elongate bodyhas a cross-section generally in the form of a square tube havingupright sides; the carrier has an inverted U-shaped cross-section thelegs of which lie closely adjacent the upright sides of the tubularbody; the tubular body having inwardly projecting flanges at its topwhich overlie a portion of the top of the carrier and wHich define theelongate slot; the carrier being slidable between a retracted positionand an extended position where it extends through the open front end ofthe body; a sleeve disposed outwardly of the elongate slot and having aninner surface in the shape of a right circular cylinder; said sleevehaving a length about 13 times its inside diameter; means operativelyconnecting the sleeve to the carrier for movement therewith andincluding a plate disposed inn said elongate slot and secured to thesleeve, and fastening means removably mounting the plate on the carrier;a superstructure secured to the elongate body and extending over thesleeve and against which a hold down force may be applied; and anapparatus for clamping the rod and for engagement by the sleeve so thatthe rod is advanced as the sleeve is moved by the carrier.
 4. In a rodand pipe pushing and pulling device including an elongate body, acarrier slidably mounted on the body, a hydraulic cylinder for movingthe carrier relative to the body, and gripping means for gripping therod and providing a surface for engagement by the carrier so that therod is moved along with the carrier; characterized in that the grippingmeans includes an L-shaped member; a first arcuate member attached atthe extremity of one leg of the L-shaped member and with its innersurface facing the other leg; a second arcuate member hinged to thefirst arcuate member and with its outer surface facing said other leg;and a hydraulic ram mounted on said other leg and operative, whenextended, to engage the outer surface of the second arcuate member togrip the rod between the two arcuate members and, when retracted,permitting the second arcuate member to swing thereby releasing the gripon the rod.
 5. A pipe jack as set forth in claim 2 wherein the length ofthe sleeve is about 13 times its inside diameter.